Your email blasts likely need a revamp. Low engagement rates, especially from recipients who don’t even open your emails, is only hurting your business as you lose on possible sales. Luckily, there’s a way to almost guarantee your email open rates will rise.
Table of Contents
- How Do You Write Great Subject Lines for Email Campaigns?
- What Are Some Tips for Writing Great Email Headers?
- How to Craft Enticing Preheaders
- Conclusion
How Do You Write Great Subject Lines for Email Campaigns?
After crafting awesome copy and content in the body of your image, the next step is to figure out how you can get your recipient to first OPEN the email. Here are some techniques to keep in mind when writing enticing words for your subject line.
Check out how you can create your marketing email campaigns with TruVISIBILITY's Messaging app. It's the fastest and easiest way to reach your leads and customers, and you only have to pay customized amounts as your business grows!
Keep it Short and Sweet
When writing email subject lines, avoid using lengthy and complex phrases. Keep it short and simple, and try to summarize the content of your email in a few words. The ideal length for an email subject line is between 30 and 50 characters. It should be concise, actionable, and engaging, so your readers feel inclined to open and read your emails.
Create a Sense of Urgency
By using words like "limited time offer" or "act now," you can create a sense of urgency that drives your readers to open your email and take action. Urgency creates a fear of missing out, which is a powerful motivator for readers.
Avoid Spammy Techniques or Wording
Spammy techniques such as using CAPS LOCK, exclamation marks, or the words 'free' or 'open now' can have a negative impact on your email open rates. Avoid using gimmicky phrases that scream desperate and cheap. Also, avoid using certain punctuations that can trigger spam filters and cause your email to be sent to the spam folder.
The example below of an email we've received from VENUS, an ecommerce business focusing on women's clothing and accessories, shows a timetable of their sale. Naturally it ends soon! This gives us urgency to check out these deals since they won't even last 24 hours.
One way to avoid accidentally using spammy words is to personalize the message in the subject. This way, the recipient will feel like the email is customized just for them, making them more likely to click on it. By filling in the space with someone’s name, this leaves you little to no room to put spammy words in the line… only valuable words like “This offer’s only good until midnight”.
Test and Analyze
Finally, test and analyze your email subject lines regularly. A/B testing is a great way to determine which subject lines are most effective at boosting open rates. Also, consider analyzing your open rates to identify patterns and trends that help you know what works and what doesn't.
What Are Some Tips for Writing Great Email Headers?
Email headers are the main words (or title) that describe what the subject of a block of text is about. Often, the header is also what a recipient or lead will see next (after the subject line) before clicking to open the email. So how do you write headers?
Be Clear and Concise
Your header should be clear and straightforward. It should convey the message you want to communicate without leaving any room for misunderstandings. Use simple words and avoid jargon. Also, try to keep your header short and to the point. A header that is too long may discourage recipients from reading the rest of the email.
Personalize It
People like to feel special. Using the recipient's name in the header is an excellent way to make the email personalized. Personalized emails have higher open and click rates than generic ones. Also, you can use personal tags that focus on your audience's interests, behavior, or previous interactions with your business.
Home Chef loves to speak to their audience personally. But this would almost be pointless if the deal wasn't so good. Also note that Home Chef is pinpointing a common problem many cookers at home may have over the summer - not wanting to heat up the house by turning on the oven.
Create a Sense of Urgency
Urgency is a powerful motivation for people to act. Use words that create a sense of urgency in your header. For instance, a header like "Limited Time Offer: Save 50% on all products" will surely catch the recipients' attention. However, make sure to be genuine with your urgency, or recipients may lose trust in your business.
Use Emojis
Emojis are not just for personal messaging. They can add a fun and personal touch to your business emails. In fact, using emojis in email headers can increase open rates by up to 56%. However, don't overuse them and make sure to choose emojis that are relevant to your message. Otherwise, it may end up coming across as unprofessional.
A/B Test Your Headers
Just like with your subject line, A/B testing is an excellent way to ensure that your email headers are effective. Create two or more variations of your header and see which one performs the best. Analyze the data, and use the most effective header for your future campaigns. A/B testing can help you identify the best practices for your business.
How to Craft Enticing Preheaders
A preheader is a short line of text that appears after the subject line and provides a preview of the email’s content. Crafting a compelling preheader can help increase the open rates of your emails and encourage subscribers to take action. Here our top tips for writing an enticing preheader.
Keep it Simple
One of the most important things to keep in mind when writing a preheader is to keep it short and to the point. Many email clients, including Gmail and Outlook, only display the first 35 to 75 characters of the preheader. Make sure your message is clear, concise, and attention-grabbing within those limits.
Make it Relevant
Your email preheader should directly relate to the content of your email. It should be clear to your reader what they can expect to find inside. Avoid vague or generic preheaders that provide no value for your reader. Instead, focus on how your email can solve a problem or add value for your reader.
Use Action-oriented Language
Your preheader is an excellent opportunity to highlight your offer or call-to-action in a way that complements the subject line. Use your preheader to provide additional details, such as the offer deadline or the specific benefits the subscriber can expect. This will encourage readers to open the email and take further action.
The examples shown here have clear call-to-actions. Showtime is urging its audience to watch certain shows. And DoorDash is urging us to treat ourselves with something other than food!
Use action-oriented language to encourage your reader to take action. Strong action verbs like "get," "join," "save," or "discover" can create a sense of urgency and excitement that encourages your reader to engage with your content. The preheaders are for pushing your contact (a little) harder to make an action, such as to buy a product or download a software or free ebook.
Personalize Your Preheader
Personalization is key to any successful email campaign. Use merge tags to personalize the preheader with the recipient’s name or location. This will help make the message more relevant and increase the chances of the email being opened.
Focus on Benefits
Instead of focusing on features or the technical details of your product or service, focus on the benefits it provides. What problem does it solve for your reader? What value will they get from using it? Use your preheader to highlight these benefits and make it clear why your reader should care.
Use Scarcity and Urgency Techniques
Creating a sense of urgency or scarcity is another effective way to motivate someone to open your email. Use words like “limited time” or “last chance” to create a sense of urgency, or highlight that a product or service is in short supply to create a sense of scarcity. These techniques can help increase the open rates of your emails and drive conversions.
You can guess that this email we got is enticing because of the free jewelry. However, it's pretty clear that there won't be much left since this deal is only for one day.
Test and Optimize
The last step is… you guessed it: Test and optimize your preheaders! See what works best for your audience. Keep track of your open rates and click-through rates to see which preheaders perform best. Use this information to tweak them for future campaigns.
Learn more about testing your email campaigns here.
You can even view our wide variety of email templates that you can customize to fit your brand and message as needed.
Conclusion
There you have it. Now you’re ready to reign in more viewers who are willing to help you make sales. All because you gave your email subject line, headers, and preheaders a facelift. Crafting a compelling subject line, header, and preheader that is short, personalized, and attention-grabbing can help increase your open rates and encourage subscribers to take action.
When you’re ready to amp up your email engagement and make some adjustments to your email blast, remember to come back to this article. You can also let TruVISIBILITY help you through the Messaging app, which allows you to use and change any elements from various email templates. All of which are designed for high conversion!
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